Excellence Fatigue: The Normalization of Defects
I am pleased to post a brief, but relevant article today from our new president at Growing Leaders: Steve Moore. I have known Steve for over three decades and he is one of the finest leaders I know. He now leads the operations at Growing Leaders, bringing a wealth of experience and insight from his…
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Six Strategies for Building Perseverance in Students
I recently listened to an interview between two neuroscientists and a group of elderly people, all over the age of 80. In the conversation, it became clear that some of these elders were losing their short-term memories and even experiencing early signs of Alzheimer’s disease. They spoke to the brain specialists about what they could…
Continue ReadingFour Things You Should Watch to Better Understand Generation Z
Today’s blog is from Andrew McPeak. Andrew is a next gen researcher, speaker and the Vice President of Content for Growing Leaders. He is also the co-author of Generation Z Unfiltered: Facing Nine Hidden Challenges of the Most Anxious Population. When I’m on the road and in conversations with leaders of various backgrounds across the…
Continue Reading10 Visible Signs of Stress in Students—and How to Spot Them
I listened in on a conversation between young women recently. The girls were from various high schools and colleges, and they were talking about surviving school. I was struck by how much they used the term stressed out. It was the most frequently verbalized term in their discussion. Today, students suffer from distress (being stressed…
Continue ReadingFive Sources of Stress in Teens
Chad lives with his grandparents whose income is so low they live well below the poverty line in his school district. Because the school is understaffed and has only one counselor, Chad is consistently living in distress, possessing no coping skills. Sara is bullied and sexually harassed as a middle school student. Her grades and…
Continue ReadingIt’s Finally Here: Generation Z Unfiltered
Do you know the students in front of you each day? I know you think you do because you know their names, their families, and how well they’re doing in your class or in sports. But this generation is more private, more anxious, more restless, more tech-friendly, more entrepreneurial, and more redemptive than previous generations.…
Continue ReadingThe State of Today’s Students Around the World
Three years ago, our organization, Growing Leaders, hosted focus groups of international leaders called Global Voices Gatherings. More than 30 leaders of youth organizations and educational institutions from 10 countries (including Singapore, Great Britain, Brazil, Ethiopia, Mexico, Canada, Egypt, South Africa, Italy, and the United States) joined us in Atlanta. Over the course of three…
Continue ReadingThe Truth and Myths About Student Learning Styles
Judy Furlich has taught high school students for 18 years. She still considers herself a “young educator” even though she’s older than the millennials. She told me for the first decade of her teaching career, she felt connected to her students. She was able to engage them in classroom discussion and elicit good performance from…
Continue ReadingThree Leadership Topics to Discuss with Your Team
Since the beginning of this year, I have experienced new territory as a leader. Change is in the wind. Major change. Our organization, Growing Leaders, endured a plateau in its growth, and some team members moved out of state. It forced our leadership’s team members to examine ourselves in fresh ways. We hired some incredible…
Continue ReadingWhat If Leadership Didn’t Just Come from the Team Captain?
The first Monday Night Football game of 2019 between the Houston Texans and the New Orleans Saints was a great one. “The Saints took possession with 37 seconds remaining in the game, used 36 of those seconds to drive to the Texans’ 40-yard line, and put Wil Lutz on the field to attempt a winning…
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